Activities that will bring you together as a family

When I was growing up our family used to go out on bike rides together, it's one of the memories of us spending time together. We'd ride for miles through forests and along trails and look at anything interesting along the way. These days I don't particularly enjoy going out on the bike, but we spend time together in other ways. The activities we do together bring us together as a family and we get to enjoy time together - which is so important.


Beeston Castle ruins in the sun.


Over the last few weeks I've been focussing on how you can spend quality time with your children, the benefits, and suggestions of movies and games you watch or play together. Some of the activities below I have mentioned before, others I haven't but here's just a few activities you can try out.



Days out


It could just be a trip to the local park or it could be a day trip to London but whichever you choose you'll get to spend time together and, when you do, make sure to be 'in the moment'. Be with your children, watch them play, watch them learn. They will notice a difference in you and will be happier because of it.


Two boys enjoying the swings in the sun.


The best days out are when you can all get involved in something together...



Escape Rooms


Work together to solve clues and escape the locked room. Sounds simple enough but it requires you to work together, to co-operate with each other and listen. 


We love escape rooms, we're looking for new ones to try out because we've tried all of our local ones (that we know of). The best thing about the escape rooms is your children may surprise you with their insight. LP has solved clues the rest of us struggled with and I was amazed at his deduction skills. BP has a talent for spotting things that we wouldn't. It makes you realise there are talents your children have that you may not have noticed so far.





My perfect weekend is going for a walk with my family in the park. I don't think there's anything better. 

Anne Wojcicki





Reading


This is more of a one-on-one activity, perhaps one of you could read with your child and then the other takes their turn. Reading with your child is a great activity, I love reading to LP and he gets so much more out of it than when he reads to himself. Not only does he get to hear the story but he gets to hear the inflections and emphasis in my voice when I'm reading.

LP's vocabulary surprises me these days but I know it's because I've spent so much time reading to him that he's learned lots of words. I believe reading with your children has a huge impact on their learning.



English Heritage


We have been members of English Heritage for years and love visiting the castles - especially Bolsover Castle (where we got married). We also enjoy the audio tours they have because you get to learn about the history of the building you're in.


The ruins of Beeston Castle
Beeston Castle


I used to hate History in school but the older I've got the more interesting I find it. I like to imagine what it used to be like to live in a huge castle, and when you listen to the audio tours it's easier to 'see'. I feel like I can go into my own imaginary world when we visit the old castles, it's almost like being a child again. And when your children see you so enthusiastic about something they are automatically interested - win!



Walking


This is one of our favourite things to do and you will hear/see me talking about it all the time. We walk along the canal near our house, we walk in local parks like Wollaton Park, and we'll even walk into the city sometimes. It's a great, and FREE, way to get outdoors and enjoy the spring weather while being able to chat to your children about anything that comes to mind.


Boys walk ahead along a footpath surrounded by long grass and trees.


In my experience children tend to be more interested in talking when walking outdoors. And even if you have younger children you could look at using baby carriers or similar, Family Hype have some great solutions for this, as well as other related posts. The conversations we've had as a family, just over the weekend, range from medical conditions like psoriasis (the Hubby suffers) to complicated economics (trying to explain Brexit to our 9 year old). But the best bit is that we don't just talk about real things, we get to imagine things - like we did when we were children.





Family and friendships are two of the greatest facilitators of happiness. 

John C. Maxwell





This morning, when I was walking LP to school, I got to ride on his jet pack because we were both tired from all the walking. If you'd have seen us at the time you would've noticed that I was holding onto a handle on LP's school bag while running alongside him while he made jet pack sounds as we ran. We both had huge smiles on our faces and laughed until we couldn't breathe. If I'm honest I must've looked rather silly - but I don't care. LP and I were having fun and we got to school much quicker!


Activities that will bring you together as a family - and most of them are free!


So there you have it, a few more ideas for activities you can try out to bring your family closer together.

What activities do you do with your family?







My Random Musings

The Pramshed